Camp trailer structure



April 17, 1951 A. c. TRoDEN ET AL 2,549,255

CAMP TRAILER STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 18, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 AUGUSTUS oTRom-:N

BY NELSON HALL ATTO RNEYS `April 1.7, 1951 A. c. TRODEN ET AL 2,549,2661

CAMP TRAILER STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 18, 1946 1 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS AUGUSTUS C. TRODEN BY NELSON HALL wmmf@ ATTOR NEYS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS AUGUSTUS C.TRODEN By NELSON HALL ATTORNEYS FIC-sfr.v

A C TRODEN ETAL CAMP TRAILER STRUCTURE April 17, 1951 Filed Nov. 18, 1946 April 17, 1951 A. c. TRODEN ET AL CAMP TRAILER STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed NOV. 18, 1946 Patented Apr. `17, 1951 n UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAMP TRAILER STRUCTURE Augustus C. Troden, Grosse Pointe, and Nelson Hall, Detroit, Mich., assignors, by mesne as s'ignments, of oneehalf to said Troden and one'-` hali" to William A; Paxton Application November 1s, 1946, serial No. 510,690 11 claims'. (c1. 29e-22) The present' invention relates to camp trailer structure and more particularly to a trailer having a body comprising hinged top and bottom parts, the top part of which is adapted to rest flat upon the ground when swung through 180 to fully open position.

It is an object of the present invention to provide in a trailer of the' type referred to counterbalancing means effectiv'eto assist initial opening or closing movement of the top part.

` It is a further object of the present' invention to provide a oounterbalancing mechanism for the hinged top of a trailer body having a shiftabl'e connection with respect to a part so" as to keep its' line of action always at the saine side o'f the' hinged connection.

It is a further object of the: present invention to providev a camp trailer having a fabric cover' in conjunction with means for tensioning' or loosening the c'over as circumstances require.

Other objects and features of the' invention Will become apparent as the description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the' accompanying drawings, wherein:

lFigure 1 is a side elevation of the traile'r with thel toppart open andthe fabric cover' in place;

Figure a is a plar'r ViewVA of the trauer;

Figure 3I is a re'ar elevation of thetrailerwith a portion of thel fabric coverrer'noved;

Figure 4 is a sideA elevation of the' trailer with thetop part shown in full lines in closedA posi; tion and in'dotted lines in open position;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary' side ele# vationview' showing the counterbalancing" mechanism andthe cover adjusting mechanism;v

Figure 6' is a` fragmentary end elevation on thev line 6-6-of Figure 5; Y

Figure 'T is a fragmentary perspective viewfofa supportI for' the counterbalancing mechanism.`

The trailer' comprises al' bottom part Hlhav'nl ing' ay compartment Il' at its forward end, the

side walls' I2 of the bott'om-A part being inclined v as indicated at I3v so as to have theirv minimum height at the rear vend of the trailer. A suitable hitchl I 4- is provided and the entire trailer body is supportedA ona pair ofwheelsf I 51 Hinged tothe rear ofthe bottom part |11 is a top part 20 having side Walls 2| also inclined so as" to form in` effect asubstantial continuation olf the inclined `side Walls l2 of the bottom part' l0" when they topV part 2U is in fully open position. The

Atop'wall` 22 of the top part 20" is fiat and the parts are so proportioned" that' the top 22" Iiesfl'at upon the44 ground when the top'part 2U is in fully open position. Legs' 23 which are hinged to theA bottom part I0 are provided with foldable braces 24 for maintaining them in operative position. K

As best seen in Figure 2, the bottom part IIJ of the trailer is of a size to accommodate a pair' of beds 30 to afford sleeping accommodations, and the top part 20 when in open position pro-jl vides a floor for the open trailer. In orderT to provide a cover for the trailer, a plurality of geni erally U-shaped frames 3io,v 3Ib and 3 i'c are provided, thev frames being secured to the fabric cover 32 at their upper ends as indicated' at 33 and havingv a pivotal mounting 34 at their-flower ends. The forward end of the fabric 32 is se-r cured to the forward end of the bottom part l0 at 35 and the' fabric is secured to the corre#` sponding end of the top part 2U as indicated at 36. The fabric A32 and the frames 3| a, 3th' and 3lc are designed to be housed within tlie' body when the top part 20' is in closed position. It will be appreciated that as the top part 20A is swung through 180 to the position illustrated in Figure 1, the fabric cover is automatically extended to the position shown.

Means are provided for tensioning and sl'ck-rv ening the fabric 32, and this means is best illustrated in Figure 5. Theo-shaped vfrarlies 3Ia, 3l'b and 3'Ic` are mounted for pivotal movement about pins SaLSTb and 31e, respectively, which pins are carried on a vertically adjustable plate' 38; The plate 38 is vertically slidable on a mast 39 which terminates at its upper end in a later'- ally projecting arm 40 to which is journalled an adjusting linger piece 4l secured to a screw 42. The plate 38 isV provided with a ythreadecl arm 43 which receives the screw 42. It will be apparent that rotation of the screw 42 by the nger piece 4l results in up and down adjust'- ment of the plate 38. Thus in the event that the fabric 32 becomes wet and shrinks, th'eplate 38 may he moved downwardly to reduce the ten-Y sion thereon. Correspondingly, when the fabric' dries and becomes slack, tension may be taken up by raising the plate 38 on the mast 39.

As best seen in Figure l, the frame 3`Ic` ,is the` longest and the frame 31D is the shortest, so that when assembled the cover32 is positioned to ptovide substantial head room as shown.

EntranceA to the interior of the covered trailer body is provided through a door opening 5D` inr the fabric 32 which may be normally closed byl 3 ancing mechanism is best illustrated in Figure 5, and comprises a tube or sleeve 55 mounted between upstanding arms 56 of a U-shaped support 51 (Figure 7) which is mounted in a formed recess 58 provided in the upwardly convex wheel' housings 59. The sleeve 55 is mounted for swinging movement about pivot pins 60 and is supported therefrom by a U-shaped strap 6I.

Referring again to Figure 5, the lsleeve 55 is Y Vprovided at its ends with annular abutments 65 and a compression spring 66 is housed within the sleeve. Extending through the sleeve .55 in telescopic relation therewith is a rod 51 having spaced abutment pins 68 and. 65 thereon. The pins 68 and 69 are of a size to pass through the opening of the annular abutments 65. The rod 61 passes through the spring 66 and pinsA 68 and 69 are adapted to engage sldable rings 16 and 1l, Y

tion, and it'will be observed that the rod 61 hasbeen moved to the right so that the pin 63 engages the spring abutment 10 and has compressed the spring 65 against the spring abutment 1I which rests against the annular abutment 65. The spring at this time is therefore exerting a force on the rod 61, which is to the left as seen in this figure, and this force as transmitted to the post tends to raise the top part 20 of the trailer and to swing the sam-e in counterclockwise direction toward closed position. Itv will be appreciated of course that the strength of the spring is selected such that it counterbalances a predetermined portion of the weight of the top part so that .ittmay be swung with as little effort as desired.

` As the top part is swung in counterclockwise ,f

direction as seen in Figure 5toward the closed position indicated in broken lines, the post 15 swings with it about the axis of the hinge 8i] between the top part 20 and the bottom part i0 of the trailer body. This results in a bodily movement of the rod 51 toward the left, this movement being accompanied with a slight upward swinging movement about the 'axis of the pin 60. When the 'top part 20 of the trailer body is in substantially vertical position, or in other words is half way closed, the parts are designed so that the spring 66 has expanded'so that spring stop 10 is' moved into engagement with the annular abutment 65 at the left-hand end of the sleeve 55. It will be observed that at this time the elongated slot 16 Vis in substantial alignment withthe rod 61. Further movement of the'top part'25 in counterclockwise direction as' viewed in Figure 5 will result first in shifting of the pin 11 from the end of the slot shown to the'bottom of the slot. After the pin 11 reaches the bottom of the slot 4 the connection between the rod 61 vand the slot 16 is shifted to the opposite end of the slot, this force tends to swing the top part 20 of the trailer body in a clockwise direction and assists its initial opening movement. It lwill be appreciated that without the shiftable connection between the rod 61 rand the post 15, the line of action of the spring 66 would pass over center Vso that the effectV of the construction just described is to maintain the line'of action of the spring always .on the same side of the hinged connection between the top and bottom Yparts of the trailer body while the direction of action of the spring is reversed substantially midway between opening and closing .or closing and opening movement of the top part 26.

While there hasfbeen illustrated and 'described a specific embodiment of the impro-ved camp trailer structure, it will be appreciated that this full and complete illustration and Vdescription has been made solely to enable'those skilled'in the art to practice the invention, the scopejof which is indicated by the 'appended claims.

What we claim las our invention is :A n

l. A trailer -body comprising hingedtop and bottom parts, said top part being movable through substantially 180 between'fully open and closedl position, spring counterbalancing means eif'ective to assist both opening and closing'movement of said top and comprising .a spring, relatively slid# able spring stressing'elements pivotally connected between said parts, the connection between one of said parts and one of said elements being shift? able in a direction transverse to the axis of the hinged connection between said parts, said con'n nection comprising a slotted post rigidly connected to said top, and a pin carried by said onev element sldable in said slot, saidspring stressing elements being effective to reverse the direction` of action of said spring as said top moves through an intermediate position, the slot in said post being substantially parallel to the line of 'action of Y said spring when its direction of action is reversed.

2. A trailer body comprising hinged topand' bottom parts, said top part being movable through substantially 180 between fully open and closed position, spring counterbalancing means .effective to assist both opening and closing movement of said .top and comprising a sleeve element pivoted;

swinging movement of the top in one direction;

, between fully open and 4fully closedA position re- 16 further closing movement of the top part 20 will result in continued bodily movement of the rod 61 to the left as viewed in this figure, with the result thatthe pin 69 engages the spring seat Yposition the compression spring 66 is acting to urge the rod 61 to the'left. Due to the fact that sults Yin relative sliding movement-between saidv elements in one direction. Y

"3. A trailer body comprising hinged top and;

bottom parts,V said top part bei-ng movable through substantially" between fully open Vand closed position, spring counterbalancing means effective to assist both openingY and closing movement ofy said top and comprising a sleeve lelement pivoted to one of said parts.,A a rod elementpivoted tothe other of said parts and ysldable in isaidsl'eeve uponrmovernent of said top part, a compression; spring in saidsleeve surrounding said rod, spaced,`

spring abutments in lsaid sleeve at both ends thereof,'and spaced 'spring abutments Von saidrod dimensioned to pass through 'the spring 'abutments in said sleeve, said elements being connected to the top and bottom parts of the trailer body such that swinging movement of the top in one direction between fully open and fully closed position results in relative sliding movement between said elements in one direction, one of said elements having ashiftable connection to its part effective to keep the line of action of said spring at the same side of said hinged connection as said top moves through 180.

4. A trailer body comprising-a bottom section;

sides, and a top section, one of said sides extending upwardly from andV forming a part-of said bottom section, the-opposite sideL thereof extending downwardly from and forming a part of said top section, a hinged connection between said bottom and top sections located substantially adjacent the bottom edge of said opposite side, a post extending from the inner side of said top for a distance substantially equal to the height of the sides of body, said post having a longitudinally extending slot terminating adjacent the free end thereof, a counterbalancing device comprising a telescopically arranged sleeve and rod, one end of said device pivotally and slidably secured to the slot in said post, the other end of said device pivotally secured to said bottom section, and spring means in said tube stressed in opposite directions by movement of said top section to either fully open or fully closed position.

5. An enclosure having a iirst portion, a second portion, a hinge connecting said portions at one side thereof for open and closing relative movement through substantially 180 degrees of arc, spring biasing means effective to assist opening and closing movement of said portions, said means comprising a member rigidly connected to said rst portion and having an elongated slot disposed to extend perpendicular to the axis of said hinge and to extend substantially equally at opposite sides of said hinge and to be substantially parallel to the direction of relative motion between said portions adjacent open and closed positions, and to be substantially perpendicular to the direction of relative motion between said portions in intermediate position, resilient means connected to the said second portion including a pin slidable in the said slot, means for reversing the direction of action of said resilient means as said portions pass through said intermediate position to cause said pins to move from one end of the slot to the other and to maintain the line of action of said resilient means always at the same side of said hinge.

6. An enclosure comprising a main portion and a cover portion, a hinge connecting said portions for substantially 180 degrees of swinging movement, elongated spring biasing means pivotally secured to one portion at the side opposite said hinge and slidably secured to the other portion adjacent said hinge, a member carried by said other portion having an elongated slot in which the end of said biasing means is slidable, said slot being disposed substantially perpendicular to the length of said elongated biasing means, when said cover portion is fully open or closed, and extending to opposite sides of said hinge, and means for reversing the direction of action of said biasing means as said cover portion moves past an intermediate open position.

7. Structure as defined in claim 5 in which said spring biasing means comprises a tube having spring abutments at its opposite ends, a compression spring in said tube, a rod slidable in said tube, and spaced spring abutments on said rod slidable through the spring abutments in said tube.

8. In a spring biasing means for the hinged` cover of an enclosure, a tubular member having a compression spring therein, spring abutments in said tube at both ends thereof, a rod slidable through said tube, and spaced spring abutments orrsaid rod slidable through the spring abutments in the ends of said tube, the spring abutments on said rod actin-g to compress the spring against the spring abutment at the opposite end of said tube. f

9. The structure as defined in claim 8 in which said spring biasing means is attached at opposite ends between the enclosure and its hinged cover, and means are provided for maintaining the line of action always at the same side of the hinge.

l0. An enclosure, a cover for said enclosure, a horizontal hinge connecting said cover to said enclosure at one side thereof, biasing :means operable to assist initial opening and closing movement of said cover comprising a pair of relatively longitudinally slidable elongated members, resilient means opposing relative sliding movement between said members in either direction from an intermediate position, one of said members being pivoted to said enclosure at the side thereof opposite said hinge, the other of said members having a pin slidable in a slot provided in said cover adjacent said hinge, said slot being substantially vertical and extending above and below the hinge axes when the cover is open or closed, and passing through an intermediate position above said hinge in which it is in substantial alignment with said members when said cover is half open, the action of said resilient means in opposing relative sliding between said members from an intermediate position in either direction causing sliding of said pin to the end of said Slot which will be above the hinge axes in final position of the cover as said cover is swung to either open or closed position, whereby the line of action of said biasing means remains above the hinge axis at all times.

1l. An open topped enclosure, a cover for said enclosure, a hinge connecting said covei` to said enclosure for swinging movement of substantially degrees between closed and full open position, elongated guide means on said cover occupying a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of said hinge, counterbalance mechanism extending between a fixed point on said enclosure and said guide means and including means slidable on said guide means from end to end thereof, said guide means being substantially perpendicular to the line of action of said counterbalance mechanism when said cover is open or closed and passing through a position substantially parallel to the line of action of said counterbalance mechanism when said cover is half open, means for reversing the direction of action of said counterbalance mechanism as said cover moves from open to closed position or from closed to open position, to cause the means on said counterbalance mechanism slidable on said guide means to slide from one end thereof to the other as said cover passes through half open position, the ends of said guide means being located with respect to the hinge axis and the said iixed point such that the line of action of said counterbalance mechanism remains always at the same side of an imaginary line drawn from said xed point to the axis of said hinge to reverse the torque exerted amazes.

on said cover as a result of the reversal of direc- Number tion of action of said counterbalance mechanism 1,107,665 upon movement of said cover between closed and 1,109,734 full open position. 1,185,981Y AUGUSTUS C. TRODEN. 5 1,707,960 NELSON HALL. 1,'7 98,463 1,881,482 REFERENCES CITED 1,395,933 The following references are of record in the 2,044,351 le of this patent: 10

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date 103,814 609,553 Lloyd Aug. 23, 1898 498,162 899,430 Pack Sept. 22, 1908 15 807,639

' Name Date Gasau et al. Aug. 18,1914 Bauer Sept. 8, 1914 Campbell June 6, 1916 Gilkinson Apr. 2,1929 Frank Mar. 31, 1931 Gilkinson Oct. l1, 1932 Kuns Jan. 31, 1933 Eriksson June 16, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Australia Apr. 26, 1938 Great Britain Jan. 4, 1939 France Oct. 19, 1936 

